Botond Roska: Scientist wins N456m prize for powerful research that could cure blindness

- A cell biologist from Hungary has won himself the 2020 Körber Prize for European Science

- Botond Roska received the €1 million prize for his research that could restore sight in blindness

- The biologist's research could cure a type of blindness that affects around one in 4,000 children

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A cell biologist identified as Botond Roska has won the 2020 Körber Prize for European Science for his research that could restore sight in blindness.

The biologist was given €1 million (N456,476,242.50) for his research, which could cure a type of blindness that affects around one in 4,000 children and it is currently going through clinical trials, Good News Network reports.

Legit.ng gathers that the prestigious award is given every year to a single European in the disciplines of life sciences and physical sciences.

The scientist has previously won four major awards since he abandoned the cello and started studying medicine.

Roska is a recipient of the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. He was given this prize for his discoveries about visual information processing.

In other news, Professor Francis Nneka Okeke is one of the few Nigerians who are making remarkable achievements in the academic world.

She is a strong contributor to the understanding of climate change. For her contribution, she was given the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women and Science Award.

A known physicist, she is also the first female head of the department at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Nneka had her BSc in Physics in 1980 before proceeding to PGD in education in 1983. In 1985, she got her MSc in education and another masters in applied earth geophysics in 1989. Six years after in 1995, she got her doctorate degree in ionospheric geophysics.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a 23-year-old Nigerian writer identified as Innocent Chizaram Ilo had won the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa region.

His short story titled When a Woman Renounces Motherhood won him the prize.

Ilo, who is the youngest writer to be awarded the African region prize since the establishment of the Commonwealth prize in 2012, will be receiving £2,500 (N1,220,237.50) and a publication with Granta.

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Source: Legit.ng